By TIM MARCHMAN
For all its staid traditions, baseball does evolve. If you have an idea, no matter how preposterous, chances are it will eventually get a hearing. (See the Chicago White Sox's brief experiment with Bermuda shorts).
Some of these ideas are probably not going to be adopted. Longtime designated hitter Jim Thome, for instance, believes the rules should be changed "to give the hitters four strikes." Other ideas, like the world's first $2,625 baseball ticket, on sale now at the new Yankee Stadium, may prove to be significantly ahead of their time.
For as much progress as there has been in baseball, there are still some old notions and orthodoxies that ought to be reexamined -- and some new ideas that might need some rejiggering. Here are a few baseball ideas that are dubious, wrongheaded or just downright illogical.
Tall Catchers
Yogi Berra, who was arguably the greatest catcher in baseball history, wasn't exactly long and lithe. Most great catchers aren't. Since it's their job to squat for hours on end, they tend to be short of limb.
Just 11 catchers listed at 6-foot-4 or taller have ever had at least 2,000 plate appearances in the modern major leagues. Among them, only Joe Mauer of the Minnesota Twins, a two-time batting champion, has been a truly exceptional player -- at least, when he's healthy. Mr. Mauer is currently out of the lineup with a back injury. The idea that catchers shouldn't be too tall is the rare concept that has the scouts and the statisticians nodding their heads in agreement.
All of this raises an uncomfortable possibility for the Baltimore Orioles. Their top pick in the 2007 draft was catcher Matt Wieters, who's listed at 6-foot-5 and hit .355 with 27 home runs in the minor leagues in his professional debut last year. Given the dearth of tall catchers of note, the Orioles could be tempting fate by leaving a potentially historic hitter at the position most likely to stunt his career.
Andy MacPhail, the Orioles general manager, says he's "not necessarily a subscriber" to the idea that a tall catcher can't be successful, despite the views of scouts. He says there are no imminent plans to move the talented Mr. Wieters, although he won't rule out the possibility. "The beauty of the situation," he says, "is that if the bat is what it appears to be, he'll be able to play anywhere on the field."
Pulling Your Best Hitter for a Pinch-Runner
During the World Baseball Classic last month, the Dominican Republic lost a shocker to the Netherlands in the first round. With two outs in the seventh inning of that game, while trailing 3-2, the Dominicans brought Jose Bautista, a journeyman infielder for the Toronto Blue Jays, to run for David Ortiz of the Boston Red Sox -- one of baseball's great clutch hitters
It's a standard move managers make in close games when they need a single run: Get the big, lumbering guy off the bases in favor of a quicker guy who might be able to wheel it all the way home on a big hit. The logic behind this is based on the notion that getting a run immediately is more important than keeping the best hitter in the game.
Bart Given, a former assistant general manager of the Toronto Blue Jays, says the trouble with this tactic is that if your team does survive, it then has to try to win the game without its biggest bat. "It's a pet peeve of mine," he says. In the case of the Dominicans last month, Mr. Given's aversion to this tactic was justified: The Dominicans didn't score after the substitution. When Mr. Bautista came up in the bottom of the ninth inning with the tying run on base and two outs, he promptly struck out. "It always seems to happen," says Mr. Given.
Pitchers Batting Ninth
In 2007, St. Louis Cardinals manager Tony LaRussa decided to make a change. For years, he'd been flirting with the idea of rejecting the conventional wisdom that the pitcher on a National League team (usually the team's worst hitter) should always bat ninth in the order. That season, he decided to see what would happen if he batted his pitchers in the eighth spot.
The move was not impulsive. "If he feels he has two leadoff hitters," explains Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak, "he would rather position them nine-one than one-two, because he prefers power in the two spot." If that sounds like a classic case of overthinking things, the math actually bears out.
Several statisticians who have studied the matter say it does make some sense. Seattle Mariners consultant Tom Tango says the move doesn't make a huge difference, but could give the team something on the order of two runs over the course of a season. In fact, he says, the No. 8 hole is actually the ideal spot for the pitcher. "It's more important to set up the top of the order with a bad hitter than a horrible one," he says. That benefit, he says, outweighs the cost of letting the pitcher get a few more at bats."
On April 10, the New York Yankees, who were leading the Kansas City Royals 4-1, called on the best pitcher in their bullpen, closer Mariano Rivera, to shut the door. Mr. Rivera retired the side on one hit and recorded two strikeouts. Nobody at the ballpark batted an eye.
But for all the money teams spend on pitching, John Dewan of Baseball Info Solutions, a data company that works for major-league teams, is bewildered by situations like this. "In a three-run game," he says, "you'd be better off bringing in your No. 2 reliever and saving your best pitcher, usually your closer, for the next game." By probability, the most crucial moment in a game -- the one where an out is the most valuable -- often comes earlier, sometimes closer to the seventh inning.
From 1977 to 2006, according to situational probabilities that have been calculated by baseball researchers, home teams going into the top of the ninth inning with a three-run lead win 98% of their games. This would seem to make the use of Mr. Rivera in such situations similar to shooting a fly with an elephant gun.
Last season, the Tampa Bay Rays, the American League champions, made the change. They left most of the easy save chances to veteran Troy Percival, who racked up 28 saves despite an unsightly 4.53 ERA. Stronger pitchers like J.P. Howell and Grant Balfour, who between them pitched 147 2/3 innings with a 1.95 ERA, were reserved for tight situations earlier in games.
According to baseball's rule 1.11(a), all members of a team must wear a uniform. As straightforward as this seems, it's actually created a philosophical divide. On one side are the managers who like wearing the same uniform as the players. On the other are a handful of managers who flout the rules and the growing number of comedians who find the tradition hilarious.
According to an informal look by researchers at the National Baseball Hall of Fame, it's believed that the last manager to wear a suit was Burt Shotton of the Brooklyn Dodgers, who last managed a game in 1950.
Ron Gardenhire, the manager of the Minnesota Twins, a fan of the uniform, may have the most convincing argument. "I hate sports coats," he says.
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